Best Meat Tenderizer
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">Best Meat Tenderizers of 2021, Tested by Allrecipes This handy kitchen gadget should be on any meat lover's wishlist.
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Although we would all love to have the ability to afford the highest quality cuts of meat possible, sometimes our budgets just don't permit it. How can you turn cheap cuts of meat into delicious, juicy and tender meals? The best place to begin is with meat tenderizers.
This is not the same seasoning mix you'll find at your local supermarket. You'll find out in the following review that there are several types of meat tenderizing instruments. But whether it's a mallet-style tenderizer or a blade-style tenderizer, they are all used for one purpose: to break down tough tissue, making the meat softer to chew and more absorbent of flavorings like marinades or seasoning rubs.
For your convenience, here are 10 best meat tenderizers available on the market. We also tested blade tenderizers and meat hammers.
Blade Meat Tenderizers
While they may look completely different, blade and mallet tenderizers both work in the same way, just using different tools. A blade tenderizer is made of numerous needles or blades, which when used to press into the meat cut the muscle fibres. This not only allows for any flavorings to be more deeply incorporated into the meat but also reduces cooking time.
For thinner cuts of meat, a blade or needle-style tenderizer is not recommended. They can cause severe damage to the meat. For this reason, they're best reserved for thicker meats like steak. There are some disadvantages to blade-style tenderizers. You have to deal with hundreds of needles or sharp blades.
Norpro Grip-Ez Meat Tenderizer
Norpro's blade-style meat tenderizer is compact and comfortable to use, with a grippy, ergonomically shaped handle. It feels strong and well-designed. A plastic sheath hides the prongs while you push down on a piece.
You have to exert some effort in pushing the spring mechanism. It is difficult to determine how deeply the prongs penetrate the roast. What's more, these prongs are larger than most other blades in this style of meat tenderizer, and the holes are visible.
Buy it: Norpro Gip-EZ Meat Tenderizer, $14;
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Blade
Function-wise, blade tenderizers are similar to needle meat tenderizers. Blade tenderizers use a series of piercing blades to cut through the tissue of the meat in order to increase its tenderness while creating channels for seasoning, rubs, and other flavors to permeate. The blade meat tenderizers are able to cut through thick, large cuts of meat with a larger cutting edge.
Tenderizers can also pose the same risks as needle meat tenderizers. It's best to choose a product with safety features. Check the directions provided by the manufacturer to learn the best ways to clean your tenderizer.
Foto: amazon.com
Handle
You should find a handle that is ergonomically designed to fit your hand when you use a meat tenderizer. By doing this, tenderizing will be easier. For mallets, you can choose a tenderizer with non-slip fingers.
Horizontal handles are available for both blade and needle meat tenderizers. To use them, just grab and press down. You can swing your mallet's head along an arc using the handle of a mallet. Your hand is the fulcrum. However, there are also mallets with vertical handles, (called pounders) that can be used to tenderize the meat with a downward motion of your clenched fist.